Music: {allcanada} CANADA'S BASEBALL TEAM QUALIFIES FOR PAN AM GAMES, WORLD CUP

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

{allcanada} CANADA'S BASEBALL TEAM QUALIFIES FOR PAN AM GAMES, WORLD CUP

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Chris Robinson of Dorchester, Ont., had a home run and three RBIs as Canada downed Puerto Rico 14-6 Monday in its final game at the Pan Am Games baseball qualifying tournament.

Canada finished the tournament in sixth place and qualified for both the 2011 Pan Am Games at Guadalajara, Mexico, and the World Cup at a site yet to be determined.

Canada pulled ahead for good in with a five-run seventh inning. Overall, Canada had 14 hits including home runs from Robinson, Adam Stern of London, Ont., Scott Thorman of Cambridge, Ont., and Jamie Romak of London, who smacked his fifth of the tournament.

Robinson went 5-for-6 on the night. His fifth-inning homer put Canada up 3-1.

"I was looking for a pitch up that I could drive," Robinson said. "I didn't even know it was out of the park until I heard the bullpen scream."

Scott Diamond of Guelph, Ont., started for Canada and allowed one run and three hits over 4 1/3 innings.

Chris Kissock of Trail, B.C., relieved Diamond in the fifth to work out of a jam with only one out and runners on first and second base. Kissock retired the first batter he faced but walked the bases loaded, and followed that up by walking in a run and then giving up a two-run single.

Tom Boleska of Burlington, Ont., relieved Kissock and got out of the inning, but Canada found themselves trailing by a run for the first time in the game.

The Puerto Rican lead was short lived when Stern walked to the plate and delivered a solo homer over the wall in right field to tie the game.

"We've got a lot of big game players on this team," Robinson said. "Sterny had a big hit for us tonight and a lot of guys showed up when we needed them to."

In the eighth inning, Thorman launched a two-run shot deep over the fence in right centre field. After Robinson and Jonathan Malo of Joliette, Que., reached base with singles, Romak put the game out of reach with a homer to left field.

"It was a battle, a tough tournament for us," said Canada manager Ernie Whitt. "We basically didn't swing the bats (well) for two games, but we came here wanting to qualify and we did that."

Vancouver's Trystan Magnuson and Calgary's Jimmy Henderson combined to close the door on Puerto Rico the rest of the way.